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Candlemass' third album (1988).

While 'Ancient Dreams' doesn't offer Candlemass fans anything they haven't heard before on the previous two releases, it's still a strong album in its own right that further cements their position at the top of their game, just as the imitation acts were starting to gestate. Messiah Marcolin is still the make-or-break element of the band, and fiercely proud of it, judging by his even more elaborate performances here. Marcolin's operatic wail is perfect for the fantasy-themed songs, but he also succeeds in tempering his style for the slower and darker offerings epitomised by the title song and the superb 'Bearer of Pain,' working alongside Lars Johansson's funereal guitar riffs.

The guitars are every bit as good as they were on 'Nightfall,' but the main problem is the nagging feeling of repetition starting to creep in, as there are obviously only so many slow, doom-laden riffs that a band can play before they start re-treading old ground, something that sadly works against songs like 'Darkness in Paradise' for sounding essentially like minor variations on earlier material.

The band is still on top of things however, and enough variety is introduced in the form of the slightly faster 'Mirror Mirror' and 'The Bells of Acheron' for traditional metal fans who need something approachable to ease them into the band's regular style, while the lighter melodies of the finale and the bizarre a capella introduction to 'Incarnation of Evil' ensure that this is an album to be remembered, even if it's easily overlooked in the shadow of its mighty predecessors.

1. Mirror Mirror2. A Cry from the Crypt3. Darkness in Paradise4. Incarnation of Evil5. Bearer of Pain6. Ancient Dreams7. The Bells of Acheron8. Epistle No. 81